EDITOR’S NOTE: You’ve probably been seeing those click-bait, alarmist headlines “Volcano off Oregon Coast to Erupt Any Minute …” well, here’s our own Gordon McCraw to break it down, giving us the “real story” about what’s happening off our coastline.
By Gordon McCraw, Meteorologist for the Tillamook County Pioneer
Well, now that I have your attention, let’s talk about what is really going on and help with any concerns you may have.
The volcano in question is known as the Axial Seamount, one of the most active underwater volcanoes in recent geologic years. This volcano is about 300 miles west of Astoria, and about 4,900 feet below the surface. Right now, most scientists and geologists are saying it is likely to erupt again before the end of 2025. As you likely know, predicting these types of eruptions to any specific timing is extremely difficult. The last of the most recent eruptions was in 2015, but it had also erupted in 2011 and 1998 as well. So, what happened during the last eruption? Well, there was a lot of magma flowing out that covered up some of the hydrothermal vents, and this wiped out some of the existing ecosystems, but the good news, this area quickly rebounded by recognizing new organisms.
More good news, being that the Axial Seamount is so far offshore and so deep, the eruption poses no risk to humans. And, as its associated earthquakes are relatively small, it will not trigger a tsunami. This means it poses no risk to any land or coastal communities in the Pacific Northwest.
On the positive side, this eruption, when it does occur, will provide some great scientific data about this type of underwater volcano, which in turn can help us to better understand and predict future events here and elsewhere. Scientists have already been monitoring the Seamount for years and hopefully all this information can be reviewed and fed into computer models, and just like with the weather models, the new data will make them more accurate.
So, there you have it, this Axial Seamount, which is part of the larger Juan de Fuca Ridge, actually poses no threat to Tillamook County, or any of its coastal communities. So now, when you see the headlines in any of the multiple outlets, you know not to panic, this will not be triggering, The Big One!
